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Brad Pitt has obviously taken a keen interest in the milieu of the World War II film, having starred in “Inglourious Basterds,” “Fury” and now “Allied.” But while the previous two focused on the grimy battlefield relationships of men, the quieter “Allied” takes on the tussle of intimate partnership in times of war. This one is especially complicated since the couple met as spies posing as man and wife. — Katie Walsh

BAD SANTA 2

If ever there was a movie that should never have been made, “Bad Santa 2” is that movie. It’s vile, like something written by a pen dipped in bile. Its dialogue is a gushing sewer of obscenity. After watching it, a viewer may feel the need to take a nice long hot shower to wash the experience off. Coal in a stocking would be an upgrade from this poisonous holiday gift. — Soren Andersen

LOVING

☆☆☆☆ out of 5

PG-13; thematic elements

Time: 2:03

Director Jeff Nichols turns the history of laws enforcing racial segregation by criminalizing marriage, and sometimes also sex, between members of different races into an intimate domestic drama in “Loving.” Based on the experiences of Richard and Mildred Loving, the real-life plaintiffs in a landmark case, it shows how far America has come in its views of race and equality — and how far is left to go. — Colin Covert

MOANA

☆☆☆☆☆ out of 5

PG; peril, some scary images and brief thematic elements

Time: 1:36

“Moana” is a joy, an uplifting moviegoing experience in which a tale of female empowerment is revealed in rousing fashion, with humor and passion and grace. Songs by “Hamilton’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda, Samoan composer Opetaia Foa‘i and Grammy-winner Mark Mancina are at a “Lion King” level of excellence. — Soren Andersen

RULES DON’T APPLY

For his first directorial effort since 1998’s “Bulworth,” Warren Beatty has chosen to tell the tale of the mental deterioration of Howard Hughes. But in “Rules Don’t Apply,” he does so by viewing the man’s disintegration through the prism of two inconsequential fictional characters. Beatty directed and wrote the script, but from a man who made the weighty epic “Reds” and the corrosively funny “Bulworth,” “Rules Don’t Apply” feels curiously weightless and as forgettable as its title. — Soren Andersen